Infertile Mice Given 3D Printed Ovaries

News from the frontiers of weird science: Scientists have managed to print mouse ovaries using 3D print technology implant them into infertile mice so they can have little mice babies.

This is big news in the fertility world as it opens up the door for infertile women in the future to receive 3D printed ovaries.

This breakthrough science was conducted by researchers at Northwestern University, in the United States. The mouse ovaries were 3D printed out of organic material that resembled a jello type substance mixed with living cells.

The university’s press release described the process as:

“The researchers used a 3D printer to create a scaffold to support hormone-producing cells and immature egg cells, called oocytes. The structure was made out of gelatin – a biological material derived from the animal protein collagen. The scientists applied biological principles to manufacture the scaffold, which needed to be rigid enough to be handled during surgery and to provide enough space for oocyte growth, blood vessel formation and ovulation.”

The process was overseen by Monica M. Laronda, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.